Chamber of Deputies (France) explained

Chamber of Deputies (French: Chambre des députés) was a parliamentary body in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:[1]

During the Bourbon Restoration

Created by the Charter of 1814 and replacing the Corps législatif, which existed under the First French Empire, the Chamber of Deputies was composed of individuals elected by census suffrage. Its role was to discuss laws and, most importantly, to vote taxes. According to the Charter, deputies were elected for five years, with one-fifth renewed each year. Deputies needed to be 40 years old and to pay one thousand francs in direct contributions.

Government ministers could be chosen from among the deputies, and this resulted in giving the Restoration government a slight, albeit minor, parliamentary and liberal character.

During the Hundred Days (les cent jours) return of Napoleon I in 1815, under the terms of the Additional Act to the Constitutions of the Empire, the Chamber of Deputies was briefly replaced by a Chamber of Representatives (Chambre des représentants). This body was dissolved upon the entry of Coalition troops into Paris on 7 July.

For the period 1815–1816, the (then) Ultra-royalist chamber was referred to as the Chambre introuvable.

During the July Monarchy

The Chamber of Deputies was elected by census suffrage according to the Charter of 1830. The political life of the July Monarchy was defined by the split within the Chamber of Deputies between the progressive movement (considered the Charter as a starting point) and the conservative wing (who refused any further modifications). Although both parties traded power in the initial stages, by 1840 the conservative members around François Guizot had seized control.

From 1830, deputies were elected for five years. They needed to be 30 years old and to pay 500 francs in direct contributions.[1]

The king convoked the chamber every year, and he had the power to extend the parliamentary session or to dissolve the chamber, although in the latter case he was required to convoke a new chamber in three months time.

In 1852, the Chamber of Deputies retook the name Corps législatif.

Historical composition

Kingdom of France (1815–1848)

May 1815
4051080
August 1815
50350
1816
201013692
1820
80194160
1824
17413
1827
170260
1830
274282
1831
73282104
1834
755032015
1837
19142566416815
1839
24019920
1842
193266
1846
168290

French Third Republic (1870–1940)

1871
381127220214182
1876
279819348152276401524
1877
27731476631113856
1881
481471701574484438
1885
604020083656373
1889
57136921414316937
1893
67419924230276114
1898
9755862325533914
1902
43104129621278935
1906
542013211590667830
1910
7524261166301317
1914
51022219266775088
1919
6826861072129183
1924
261044413912329116
1928
111026012518024100
1932
910132431601214983
1936
672149441158242100

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Encyclopedia Britannica. September 24, 2023. Britannica.com.
  2. Web site: National Assembly. September 24, 2023. www2.assemblee-nationale.fr.